As Jitan Ram Manjhi opts out\, RJD turns sceptical of smaller parties and leans toward Congress

NEW DELHI: With Jitan Ram Manjhi’s Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) leaving the grand alliance, there is a feeling within RJD that allotting seats to smaller parties will harm the larger interest of the opposition. The party is not willing to give too much importance to smaller parties like RLSP of Upendra Kushwaha, VIP of Mukesh Sahni and other smaller parties but instead would like to keep its focus more on their traditional alliance of RJD — Congress and the Left parties.

Sources in RJD told ET that this apprehension has been communicated to the Congress leadership in Delhi. A serious thought is being given to the new equation in the opposition alliance by the leading parties –– the RJD and Congress.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, RJD, Congress, RLSP, VIP and HAM contested as part of the grand alliance. However, only one out of 40 seats in Bihar was won by Congress in the alliance.

RJD leaders feel the so-called ‘caste leaders’ like Kushwaha, Sahni and Manjhi were not able to transfer their caste votes despite being given importance in the alliance.